RBNR Ch72: Let’s get divorced

Qin Bao didn’t manage to rush back to the capital to see Feng Chengyu, but Xu Tangzhou found an opportunity. Due to the popularity of the variety show and his excellent personal qualities, Xu Tangzhou landed an endorsement deal with Mist, requiring him to return to the capital. He could also take the chance to surprise Ling Che.

Somehow, Xu Tangzhou heard that Qin Bao was also a candidate for the endorsement and hesitated.

Qin Bao, annoyed, scolded him, “If you have a chance, grab it. Why hesitate? Besides, even if the contract were handed to me, I couldn’t sign it. Stop overthinking and go quickly.”

An Omega with a permanent mark no longer needed gland patches, so Qin Bao couldn’t be the endorser.

Curious about the bite mark on Qin Bao’s nape, Xu Tangzhou asked, “Tell me your story.”

It wasn’t that Qin Bao didn’t want to, but he wasn’t ready to share yet. He quickly brushed him off.

Actually, Xu Tangzhou knew most about his and Feng Chengyu’s situation. It was Xu Tangzhou who had encouraged him when he was at his wit’s end to accept the contract marriage.

However, the subsequent developments were far beyond expectations—pheromone allergy, permanent marking, the Qin family’s troubles… His relationship with Feng Chengyu was no longer as simple as before the contract.

Although Qin Bao was now sure of their feelings for each other, seeing the pure mutual devotion between Xu Tangzhou and Ling Che made him feel envious. He also wanted to be able to run to Feng Chengyu easily and openly say he liked him.

Courage takes time to build.

Qin Bao found that being in the crew, separated from Feng Chengyu, was actually a good thing for him. He carried too much weight and needed this time to digest and settle.

But fate played a joke on him, not giving him that chance.

During a scene with the second male lead, Qin Bao’s performance improved with each take. However, halfway through the third take, the director’s sharp “Cut!” halted the filming.

“Sorry, it must be my fault again,” said the second male lead, Xiao Yang.

“It’s okay,” Qin Bao felt it was a pity but knew it couldn’t be rushed, so he remained polite. “I’ll ask the director what’s wrong.”

Qin Bao had already noticed some commotion on set earlier, but he didn’t know what it was about.

As he walked over, the directors and Gu Xiaoshan all showed expressions that were hard to describe, as if they were seeing him for the first time.

In the middle of the crowd stood Brother Lu, looking as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

Qin Bao’s heart skipped a beat, thinking something had happened at home again, but Brother Lu quickly pulled him aside and whispered urgently, “Your relationship with Mr. Feng has been exposed. A lot of media are heading here right now. It’s an open set, so we should stop filming for now. Come with me.”

Exposed?

What does that mean?

Qin Bao didn’t understand immediately. Brother Lu, flustered, said, “Look at this.”

Brother Lu shoved his phone in front of Qin Bao’s face. The screen showed Flow’s trending topics, each with a bright red “Explosive” tag.

The most prominent one was at the top:

#FengChengyuQinBaoMarried# Explosive.

Qin Bao suddenly understood, feeling dizzy. He didn’t even remember how Brother Lu got him into the car.

When they returned to the hotel, Xiao Xu was already packing Qin Bao’s things and had called the crew’s makeup artist to the room to help remove his makeup.

The makeup artist, who usually loved to chat and joke, seemed to be holding his breath this time. Qin Bao could feel his hands trembling several times.

From stopping filming to leaving the crew’s hotel, it took less than an hour. By the time they got to the hotel entrance, it was already packed with fans, reporters, and others.

“Qin Bao! Qin Bao! When did you and Mr. Feng get married?!”

“Is it true that your father is Minister Qin and your grandfather is Qin Zhenyuan?!”

“Your father, the former Minister of Commerce, was previously accused of treason and embezzling a lot of money. Do you have anything to say to your fans about this? Did Feng Chengyu also participate in these crimes? Was he shot in Yatan because of a disagreement with a terrorist organization?”

“Your grandfather was a general, your father a high official, so why did you enter the entertainment industry?”

“Feng Chengyu didn’t run for council but had a lot of support. Do you think he still has a chance in the future?”

Brother Lu and the security guards protected Qin Bao on either side, while Xiao Xu pushed back the reporters from behind.

Cameras and microphones were shoved towards them, the crowd seemingly triggered by some sensitive nerve, acting crazy.

Barely able to move, Qin Bao silently got into the car, followed closely by Brother Lu and Xiao Xu, who almost couldn’t close the door behind them.

The car couldn’t drive away due to the crowd blocking it. Brother Lu received a call and turned to see Qin Bao leaning back in his seat, eyes closed, clearly distressed.

“It’s Mr. Feng. He’s called the police,” Brother Lu said. “We’ll be able to leave soon.”

“Okay,” Qin Bao opened his eyes. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t know the specifics yet, but I do know that someone suddenly posted your personal information online,” Brother Lu said, handing him the phone again. “The platform has blocked it, but I guess many people have already taken screenshots. This is what I captured just now.”

The screen showed a chart.

From birth date, weight, height, to pheromone code, family background, and marital status, all his personal information was listed in detail. In the spouse column, it read: Feng Chengyu.

There might be other people with the same name, but Qin Bao’s family background left no doubt. The Feng Chengyu he was married to could only be the nationally renowned Alpha.

Ever since the wedding ring was placed on his left ring finger, Feng Chengyu had never publicly announced who his partner was, nor had he brought his spouse to any public events. His supporters and the public speculated that Feng Chengyu’s spouse likely came from a scholarly family and was deeply involved in academic research, much like his parents.

Who would have thought that once exposed, Feng Chengyu’s spouse turned out to be Qin Bao, a supermodel nine years his junior?

It was mind-blowing.

Qin Bao felt like he was in a dream, his head buzzing, not even realizing when the car started moving.

Xiao Xu and Brother Lu were talking, but Qin Bao couldn’t hear them. He just wanted to understand what was going on until Feng Chengyu’s name appeared on his phone.

Feng Chengyu asked, “Xiao Bao, are you on your way to the airport?”

“I think so,” Qin Bao was still in a daze. “Are you asking me to go back to the capital?”

Feng Chengyu said, “Yes. But you can’t go home right now. I’ve asked Shu Helan to pick you up. Don’t worry, we’ll talk when we meet.”

Qin Bao replied, “Okay.”

Qin Bao wasn’t afraid. His anxiety didn’t stem from people knowing that his partner was Feng Chengyu.

Everything was happening so suddenly.

This time, Qin Bao didn’t shut off the internet and ignore it as he had when he was previously attacked online. On the plane, he read almost all the news online.

In addition to the explosive #FengChengyuQinBaoMarried tag, there were also #FengChengyuResigns, #FengChengyuAllegedRareResourceSmuggling, #QinBaoFengChengyuMarriage, #QinBaoSecretMarriage, and #QinBaoMilkScentPheromones trending topics.

Their names filled Flow’s homepage.

[Is this really a marriage of convenience? They don’t seem to match at all, but can we still ship them?]

[Qin Bao is so arrogant and loves hooking up. Can Mr. Feng really tolerate that? Curious about their marriage now.]

[Nine years older! Can Mr. Feng really handle a baby?]

[No one’s talking about Qin Bao’s pheromones? LOL, it’s milk-scented. No wonder he kept it a secret. Such a huge contrast.]

[As everyone knows, Omega’s personal information is private, and exposing it is illegal.]

[So what? The hacker said they’ll expose more people next!]

Qin Bao also noticed that #OmegaArtistPheromonesExposed was climbing the ranks. The hacker’s account posted a status saying, “Guess whose information will be exposed tomorrow,” before being promptly banned by the platform.

The hacker seemed to be using threats to extort money from management companies.

This behavior was incomprehensible to most people but caused enough panic. Fans of various celebrities kept refreshing the feeds, afraid their idols would be next.

Qin Bao didn’t log into his account but checked his profile. His latest Flow post had nearly a million new comments, up from tens of thousands.

His fans were drowned out, the front rows filled with angry, irrational messages from the public.

[The Ministry of Commerce managing rare resources involved with terrorists? What a deal between the Feng and Qin families!]

[Guess what, Feng Chengyu might be pushing the mining ban while selling rare resources on the side. What a hypocrite.]

[Fun fact: spreading false information with over 500 shares or likes can get you jailed. The law has already determined the outcome, so stop harassing innocent people.]

[Marrying into your family is such bad luck. Feng Chengyu’s promising career is ruined because of your family!]

[As soon as Mr. Feng resigned, your father was released without charge. Don’t tell me there was no quid pro quo!]

[Give us back Feng Chengyu! He was dragged down by the Qin family for no reason!]

[What’s the point of running for office anymore? It’s never going to happen, not this year, not ever.]

[It’s the Qin family’s marriage of convenience, no way he can go back to politics.]

The more Qin Bao read, the heavier his heart felt.

The capital airport was as busy as ever. Qin Bao used the VIP passage and smoothly met Shu Helan.

Seeing him, Shu Helan smiled, “This solidified your husband’s status for you. Xiao Bao, there’s no escaping now.”

Brother Lu and Xiao Xu handed Qin Bao over to Shu Helan and immediately went back to the studio to deal with the situation.

Once in the car, Qin Bao asked, “Is our house blocked?”

Qin Bao thought quickly.

Their family address was also in the information chart, and paparazzi would surely flock to it.

“Yes, so we’re taking you to Feng Chengyu’s old place,” Shu Helan said. “He’s with Director Feng right now, with the police. He should be back soon.”

Qin Bao was puzzled, “Director Feng?”

Shu Helan explained, “Your husband has a good track record and considerable influence in politics. You know that. Plus, with Beiye Star successfully becoming the next protected area, it’s very inspiring. Although he didn’t run for office this year, there’s a lot of support for him on the Imperial Council website. Some people are afraid he might come back, so they came up with this dirty trick to cut off his path.”

Qin Bao instantly understood, “…”

Seeing the current public opinion, this tactic was indeed very effective.

From Feng Chu, he knew that as a relative of the Qin family, it would be difficult for Feng Chengyu to return to politics. However, he had thought that since he couldn’t go back for a few years anyway, they could just wait and see.

Now, with this sudden push, the possibility of returning was directly cut off.

Shu Helan continued, “The person responsible was caught, but the information leaked out somehow. Maybe it was sold beforehand. This so-called hacker just used the existing data to make a splash and attract attention, then moved on to extort others. He doesn’t seem very smart and won’t last long.”

Qin Bao couldn’t think about this anymore. During the hours on the plane, a thought gradually took root in his mind, growing stronger as events unfolded.

Shu Helan kept talking to Qin Bao, mentioning An Qingyan and Xi Ya, trying to distract him. The car soon arrived at the residential area where Feng Chengyu’s old apartment was located.

Shu Helan escorted Qin Bao inside, reassuring him, “In my opinion, as long as no innocent people get hurt, this isn’t a big deal. You two were going to go public eventually.”

Qin Bao looked a bit dazed, “This isn’t a big deal?”

“Of course not. You’re legally married, not just sneaking around,” Shu Helan said. “Just don’t pay too much attention to the online comments.”

After saying a few more comforting words, he mentioned that he and An Qingyan would bring dinner over in the evening, then Shu Helan left.

Feng Chengyu hadn’t returned yet. The furniture and arrangement in the apartment were the same as before, but the place felt cold due to long periods of disuse.

The last time he was here, Qin Bao was fifteen.

He had burned Feng Chengyu’s pot while cooking dumplings and playing video games at the same time.

It felt like yesterday.

He seemed to always be a bother.

Turning off his phone, Qin Bao found Feng Chengyu’s lighter on the small balcony outside and smoked a cigarette.

Being in this apartment after getting married felt different. He could sense Feng Chengyu’s character and understand what kind of person he was from the surroundings.

Qin Bao didn’t want to be an obstacle or become weak and insignificant. He was tired of this constant internal struggle and had to cut through the chaos. If possible, he wanted to try to make amends.

He wanted to start as equals.

When Feng Chengyu came back, he was weary from travel. As soon as he saw Qin Bao, he walked over and embraced him. “I’m sorry, Xiao Bao. Did I scare you? Someone is targeting me, and you got caught in the crossfire.”

Qin Bao hugged him back and said, “It’s okay.”

After a few seconds, Qin Bao spoke, “Feng Chengyu, let’s get a divorce.”